


Never Let Go

by foossoaffoof



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action, Everyone is Badass, F/M, Fighting, Lance and Shiro are brothers, M/M, Slow Burn, bending au, earth bender pidge and hunk, fire bender keith, pidge is a girl cuz of her complicated backstory, water tribe princess allura, waterbender Lance and Shiro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2018-08-23 06:39:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8317705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foossoaffoof/pseuds/foossoaffoof
Summary: Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Galra Empire attacked.Lance and Shiro were captured by Zarkon but managed to escape, stumbling upon Allura and her special squad of rescued teens from unfortunate circumstances. What will happen when the Galra try to recapture their greatest 'Champions'?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and Welcome!  
> Just a warning, i am very inconsistent with my writings so this probably will be updated at really random times so pls be patient!  
> But yes, enjoy bending Voltron Squad!

A small boy stood in the ring, sweat glistening off his porcelain skin, where every bruise and scar was visible. He panted, gasping for breaths as his larger, stronger opponent laughed, a crazy look in his eye.

The boy pulled back his long black hair and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He attacked, bending a straight shot of fire to his opponent. The man, who’d been waving to the crowd, roared in pain. The boy didn’t hesitate, he took the opportunity and took it.

“The winner! Keith!” the ringmaster held up the boy-Keith’s hand. Keith looked up into the crowds to find his master, who disapprovingly shook his head. The young firebender frowned. He’d won, why was his master not happy?

\--

“Shiro! I bet you can’t beat me in a race!” a young water bender exclaimed, giggling as the older boy started to chase him.

“Don’t be too sure, Lance,” Shiro smiled, chasing the cheerful nine year old around their backyard.

“Be careful, boys,” a feminine voice warned.

“We will, Mom!” Lance exclaimed.

A loud, blaring noise cut through the peaceful atmosphere. Lance and Shiro paused in their playing to look towards the source of the noise. Airships. Twenty of them. Fifty of them. Hundreds.

“Shiro, Lance, inside the house now,” came their mother’s quick order.

The two water benders quickly obeyed their mother and raced inside to the front room and peered out the window.

“Who are they Mom?” Shiro asked.

“They’re called the Galra,” a different voice replied. It was their father. “They’re very dangerous and I need you boys to stay here.”

“Yes, Dad,” Shiro nodded, reaching to grab Lance’s hand firmly. “We’ll stay here.” Lance was still staring out the window, watching as the purple-clad soldiers invaded their villages with their large weapons. 

Suddenly, everything became slow motion. The door was knocked down, multiple soldiers stormed in, shoving their father to the ground. Their mother was being held back by the hair, her screams piercing the air but fell upon silent ears. Their father got up to attack only to be stabbed through with a sword.

“Look, there’s two kids here,” one voice said.

“Didn’t Zarkon want all the kids?”

“Let’s take them.”

Rough hands pried Shiro and Lance apart, crying for their parents, who lay bleeding in their own living room. Lance’s small hand found Shiro’s as they were chained with all the other children of the town.

“Never let go, Shiro.”

“I won’t, Lance.”

\--Ten Years Later--

Shiro groggily opened his eyes and stared at the all-too-familiar metal of the bunk above him. A soft moan above him told him his brother was still somewhat asleep. A hand flopped over the side and Shiro reached up to hold it instinctively. _Never let go, Shiro._ He won’t.

Together, he and Lance had been fighting for Zarkon for the past ten years. He was sick of it, of Zarkon. He just wanted to be free, where he could play with his brother and have fun. Where they could make new friends instead of killing them.

“Shiro,” Lance softly said. “You’re holding my hand too tight. I can’t feel it anymore.”

“Oh! Sorry, Lance!” Shiro quickly let go and watched the arm disappear up to Lance’s bunk, but replaced with Lance’s head, peeking over the side.

“Today’s the day, right?”

“Yep,” Shiro nodded, pulling aside the blanket. Zarkon’s warriors only had one outfit. It was a full body suit, ending at the wrists and ankles. The boots were sturdy enough, rising to mid-calf, and each was offered a pair of gloves. Lance had ripped the fingers off his gloves, preferring to feel the water he bent with his fingertips, but also keeping the main purpose of the glove for his palms. 

Lance lept out of his bunk and landed neatly on the ground, his brown hair kept short and shaggy, messed up from sleep. Shiro stood and affectionately tamed his brother’s hair.

“Breakfast!” a rough voice exclaimed. Two trays slipped in from under the door.

“Eat up,” Shiro said, “we’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

\--

“You’ve got to be kidding me?!” Hunk ran a hand over his face to suppress his frustration.

“What?” a more feminine voice asked.

“These readings aren’t even from Earth!”

 _“WHAT?!”_ the source of the feminine voice stood and rushed over to peer over Hunk’s shoulder. “That’s impossible. If the Galra aren’t from Earth, how come we’ve only figured this out now? How come no one knew? Where did they come from?”

“Pidge,” the earth bender sighed. “Calm down.”

“How can I calm down when the Galra aren’t even human?!” Pidge exclaimed, her messy ponytail bobbing with each move she made. “How are we supposed to find a weakness if we don’t know what kind of weaknesses they are capable of having?” The other earth bender threw her hands in the air.

The door opened and a red-clad figure walked in.

“Keith! Thank goodness, Pidge is having another meltdown!” Hunk thread his fingers in his hair.

“Pidge…” Keith raised a brow.

“I'm not the only one having a meltdown here! The Galra aren’t even human!” Pidge pulled on strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail.

“Wait-what?” Keith jumped over to look at the readings over Hunk’s shoulder. “Hmm...that explains a lot. We’d better get this information to Allura.”

Hunk and Pidge nodded, following the fire bender out of the studio, pulling on their fur coats as the left the building. It was a strange place to find a fire bender and two earth benders. It was usually rare to find any other type of bender at the Northern Water Tribe, but Allura had found them and taken them in. Everyone knew who they were and why they were there, not even questioning it.

The walk to the Palace was quick, the three arriving in no time.

“Allura!” Hunk exclaimed, being the first to enter the conference room. The Water Tribe Princess stood.

“Hunk? I’m in the middle of a meeting,” she said, hands on hips.

“This is more important,” Keith said, falling into step with Pidge on his heels.

“The Galra aren’t from Earth!” Pidge exclaimed, eventually tripping over Keith’s heels in her excitement.

“What?” Allura asked, eyes darting to Hunk to explain.

“Okay, so…” Hunk nervously started, trembling from being put on the spotlight so quickly. “I was trying to hack their airships looking for anything we could use against them, you know, like-”

Keith cleared his throat.

“Anyway, I found that the frequency of their technology runs on an element that doesn’t originate on Earth,” Hunk quickly explained. “They’re not from Earth.”

“Is it possible they were a race that originated in the Spirit World?” Coran stood. Hunk shook his head, but Pidge spoke up.

“We’ve studied wavelengths of Spirit Energy,” she said. “This new element doesn’t even come close to that sort of frequency. It’s completely different!”

“How are we supposed to stop them now?” Hunk asked. Allura contemplated the new information.

“Keep monitoring the frequencies,” she said. “I’ll be in as soon as we’re done here.”

Keith nodded and pulled Pidge and Hunk out of the conference room.

\--

“Quick!” Lance whispered, as he pulled open a door for him and Shiro to crawl through.

“Up for some deep sea diving?” Shiro asked as he pulled Lance onto the balcony. Their current airship was traveling over the vast ocean in between the Northern Water tribe and the Fire Nation.

“I’d take it over being Zarkon’s lap dog any day,” the younger brother exclaimed. Shiro held out his hand. Lance took it, and together they jumped.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK for ur kind words!  
> Here's another chapter!  
> Enjoy~~

Pidge sat up straight.

“Wait a second!” she exclaimed. “What’s that?”

“I don’t know, what is it, Pidge?” Hunk asked, leaning over to look at Pidge’s screen. The smaller earth bender rolled her eyes.

“Whatever it is it’s coming towards the Kingdom,” Keith said. “Let’s go give it a warm welcome.” Pidge smiled and stood, pulling on her fur coat.

“Can I just stay here?” Hunk asked, slowly standing up.

“All for one and one for all,” Pidge said, tossing Hunk’s yellow-green coat at the bigger earth bender. Keith buttoned up his own red coat and opened the door.

The three trekked out towards the shore, not knowing what to expect. What they found was something completely different.

Two men, laid out unconscious on the snowy bank. One had a large muscular frame and dark black hair. His skin tone was a bit light, but his facial features suggested he was a Water Tribesman. He had a large scar running across his nose and a prosthetic right arm.

The other man had the natural skin tone of a Water Tribesman and light brown hair. He had a long, lean frame, but still muscular as well. He had a few pink scars visible and had a prosthetic left leg from the knee down.

“Look at their uniforms,” Keith whispered. “They were working for Zarkon.”

“Probably forced to fight from the looks of it,” Pidge said, picking up the younger man’s hand and examining the rough skin.

“But do they still fight for Zarkon?” Hunk asked, nervously eyeing their prosthetic limbs.

“Let’s take them back to the studio,” Keith said, helping the younger man up.

"What? A-are you sure we should? For all we know, they could attack us when they wake up! They could go after the Princess! They could-" Hunk was cut off with a blank stare from Keith.

"We're taking them, end of discussion."

Hunk nervously helped up the larger man while Pidge helped Keith support the younger one.

When they got back to the studio, they pulled out two extra cots and laid the men down.

“What now?” Pidge asked.

“We wait until they wake up.” Keith stood at the foot of the two men and crossed his arms, studying each one carefully. They were both extremely handsome. He shook that thought from his mind and pursed his lips.

“Well I’m gonna go be more productive,” Hunk said, nervously wringing his hands, "in the other room.”

“I should probably make sure he’s okay,” Pidge sighed, following the bigger earth bender out of the room. Keith took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. Those two would be the death of him someday.

\--

Lance woke first. He moaned and groggily opened his eyes. He brought a hand up to his temple, feeling it throb beneath his cold fingers. His hands were always cold. Shiro had always made fun of him for it. Shiro! Lance sat up.

“You're awake,” a voice said.

Lance noticed two things. One, Shiro was still unconscious in the cot next to him. Two, there was a fire bender standing at his feet who looked ready to tear his face off. Lance acted. He lept of the cot and used the water from the small pitcher in the corner to strike if needed.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Lance said.

“What side are you on?” the fire bender asked. He had a _mullet_. Who the fuck has a mullet these days?

“Which side is this?” the water bender asked, moving so he was in between Shiro and the fire bender.

“Against Zarkon,” Mulletman said. Lance relaxed his form, still hovering the water in case.

“We’re against, too,” Lance said. “The name’s Lance. That’s my brother, Shiro.”

“Keith.” He held out his hand. Lance hesitated before shaking it. He bent the water and dropped it on his brother’s face, waking him up. Shiro gasped and sputtered.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!” Lance laughed.

Shiro smirked and bent the water off his face and directly into Lance’s. Keith fought to contain his smile. Shiro noticed Keith and stood, ready to fight. Lance put an arm on Shiro’s arm and shook his head. Shiro nodded and extended his prosthetic arm towards Keith.

“I’m Shiro,” he smiled. Keith hesitated, blinking at the prosthetic before shaking it.

“Keith.”

A small figure dressed in green and black tights burst into the room.

“Keith-wah they’re awake! I was not ready!” she exclaimed, nearly jumping backwards.

“It’s okay, they’re on our side,” Keith said.

“Oh, ok,” she said. “I’m Pidge.”

“Shiro.”

“Lance!” the younger brother waved.

“What were you going to tell me?” Keith asked.

“Oh! That Allura’s here.”

“Allura? The Northern Water Tribe Princess?” Shiro asked.

“Ooh! I saw a picture of her on Zarkon’s dashboard once!” Lance exclaimed. “She’s really pretty! They say that her hair’s naturally white because her ancestor was a moon spirit!”

“Wait-when were you at Zarkon’s dash?” Shiro asked.

“The last time he wanted me to-”

“Oh-I remember now,” Shiro visibly paled and placed a comforting hand on Lance’s shoulder.

“Well, Allura would probably want to meet you guys too,” Pidge said. “Come on!” She gestured for the two water benders to follow her into the other room.

The princess was beyond pretty. Her white hair fell in waves neatly down her back, her dress short, simple, and stylish, but still easy to move around in, and her eyes were the prettiest combination of blue and purple ever seen.

“Oh, hello there,” she smiled upon seeing Shiro and Lance. “I’m Allura.”

“Lance, this is Shiro, and may I just say-”

“Lance!” Shiro warned.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” Allura smiled. “How did you escape Zarkon’s airships?”

“We went for a swim,” Lance smirked.

“You jumped out of an airship traveling at full speed into the Northern Waters?” the bigger earth bender exclaimed, nearly pushing Allura and Pidge aside to stare at the two brothers.

“Uh, yeah,” Lance crossed his arms. “How else did you expect us to do it?”

“Besides, it wasn’t that bad,” Shiro said. “We bent the water to catch us.”

“Oh? You’re water benders?” Allura asked, her face falling the slightest bit. “You’re from the Southern Tribe then?”

Shiro and Lance exchanged glances before nodding.

“I’m sorry,” the Princess placed reassuring hands on their shoulders. After a few seconds she perked up again. “Well, anyways, let’s get you some new clothes and some food to eat.”

Within the end of the hour, Lance and Shiro were wearing clean, comfortable Water Tribe clothes and had stuffed themselves full of classic Water Tribe foods.

“So you guys are brothers?” Pidge asked.

“Yeah,” Shiro nodded.

“Well, technically, we’re half brothers,” Lance said. “Same Mom, different Dads, but still brothers nonetheless.”

“Cool,” Pidge nodded. “How long were you held captive by Zarkon?”

“Uhh…” Lance blinked, looking up at his brother.

“Ten years,” Shiro answered, heaving a big sigh.

“Ten years?!” Hunk exclaimed. “How long were you planning your escape?”

“It was probably when Lance turned...what? Fifteen?” Shiro turned to look at his brother, who shrugged. “Yeah, so three years? Wait-how old are you, Lance?”

“Uh...nineteen?” Lance furrowed his brow. “Wait-didn’t I just have a birthday? Did I turn nineteen or twenty?”

“Holy Fuck,” Shiro swore. Lance chuckled teasingly.

“That means you’re at least twenty-two, you old fart,” the younger brother laughed.

“Twenty-two isn’t that old, Lance,” Shiro crossed his arms.

“Well, you’re older than all of us at least,” Pidge said. Lance and Shiro looked up. “Keith and I are seventeen, Hunk’s eighteen.”

“What? Mulletman is actually Mulletboy?” Lance exclaimed. Keith glared at Lance.

“Don’t make me zap you with lightning, I heard it really hurts,” the fire bender said.

“Try it, Mulletboy, I bet I could pummel your sorry ass into the snow!” the brunette exclaimed. Shiro rolled his eyes.

“Lance,” Pidge said, “I mean this in the best possible way, but you’re a moron.”

“I ship it,” Hunk smirked.

“Ship what?” Lance asked. “Is this a new thing?”

“What?!” Keith exclaimed.

“Ooh! I can kinda see it too!” Pidge smirked. “My new OTP.”

“No!” Keith grabbed Pidge’s sleeve.

“What’s an ‘OTP’?” Shiro asked.

“It stands for ‘one true pairing’,” Hunk explained. “It’s the one couple you ship the most.”

“What’s ship?” Lance asked. “How does one ship?”

“It’s kinda like the couple that doesn’t exist yet but you really want it to happen,” the smaller earth bender explained.

“So who are the two people you ‘ship’?” Shiro asked.

“Keith and Lance!” Hunk smiled, sending a teasing glance at the fire bender.

“So if I understand this correctly,” Lance said, brows furrowed, “you want me and Keith to be a couple?” Pidge and Hunk nodded. Lance hummed, brows still furrowed.

“You look so confused,” Keith commented.

“You know what? I am, but I’m just going to let it go,” the brunette sighed, waving his hand.

“Good,” Shiro teased. “Because thinking for more than two minutes is dangerous to your health.”

“YOU'RE dangerous to your health!” Lance playfully shoved Shiro’s shoulder. Pidge and Hunk burst out laughing.

“That’s probably true,” Shiro chuckled. Keith rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, a beeping sound came from one of the monitors. Pidge jumped up and stumbled over to her screen.

“Holy fucking Moly,” she cursed.

“What?” Keith asked, making his way to peer at the monitor over Pidge’s shoulder.

“The Galra are coming,” she said. “Hundreds of them.” She looked over at Shiro and Lance. “My guess is they didn’t take too kindly to your departure.”

Lance and Shiro exchanged glances.

“Well shit,” Lance pouted.

“How much time before they get here?” Shiro asked.

“Depends on where ‘here’ is, like the shore or the Palace?” Pidge glanced at Shiro to find him blankly looking at her. “Right, roughly about two hours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //vaguely hints at things you'll never find out (because destroying my children is rly fun atm apparently)
> 
> questions? comments? concerns? anything to improve on? Do Not Hesitate!  
> Contact me today! www.swimmingflamingo.tumblr.com (im still working on their outfits be patient with me i dont draw digital)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! so i got a few questions as to why lance was hangin with zarkon in his main room and ill get to that later in the story.
> 
> enjoy~

“Mom, where are we going?” a small boy asked, looking up to his thin, sickly mother. Her black tattered strands of hair fell over her eyes, she brushed them away.

“We’re going to meet your father,” she said, giving her son a nervous smile. The two entered the platform for the trains running to the inner rings of Ba Sing Se.

“Is he coming on the train?” the boy asked. His mother nodded and set her son on a bench.

“I’m going to go look that sign over there,” she said, “can you wait here?”

“Yes, Mom,” he nodded.

“Good boy, Hunk,” she smiled, a tear running down her cheek. She stood up and walked away.

She never came back.

Hunk wondered what he’d done wrong.

\---

“So...what do we do now?” Hunk asked, crossing his arms.

“Well, first, we should tell Allura,” Keith said. “We need to either prepare for a counter attack or a city wide evacuation.”

“Or, we could try to take them down on our own,” Pidge smirked. “I could metal bend those airships straight into the ocean!”

“Yeah! You go Pidge!” Lance cheered.

“Seriously?” Keith raised a brow. “While you might be one of the best metal benders I’ve ever known-”

“Thanks!”

“You won’t be able to destroy all of them in time,” Keith continued.

“Keith is right,” Shiro said, standing up. “We need to find the Princess and help her save the civilians. Innocent people should not have to be at the mercy of Zarkon when there’s still time to save them.”

“Let’s go then,” Lance stood, cheesy grin on his face. “What are we standing around for? The noodle delivery guy?”

“Oh I wish it was the noodle delivery guy instead of Zarkon!” Hunk pouted, slipping on his coat. Keith rolled his eyes.

“There won’t be a noodle delivery guy if we just stand here,” he said, grabbing his coat. “Let’s go.”

They ran to the Palace.

“Allura!” Pidge exclaimed. “The Galra are on their way! Hundreds of airships!”

“What do we do?” Hunk asked.

“Should we stay and fight or should we evacuate the city?” Keith asked.

Allura slowly stood from her desk. Coran, who was sitting next to her, also rose.

“Oh dear,” he said. “We should first evacuate the people. Keep them out of harm's way.” He turned to Allura, who was still clearly struggling with what to do.

After a few moments of silence, Shiro spoke up.

“Princess?” he asked. “If it’s me and Lance that he wants, we should go and confront him. We could lead him away from-”

“No!” Allura narrowed her eyes. “I’m not letting Zarkon take or kill anybody. We stay and fight. Sound the alarm, Coran.” He nodded and ran to do her bidding. Allura looked at the five benders standing in front of her. “How much time do we have?”

“About two hours,” Pidge said.

“Then let’s come up with a plan,” Allura smiled.

\--

“I didn’t think the Galra would find us this fast,” Lance said, running a hand through his hair. “They didn’t even know which way we went!”

“Maybe they locked onto the frequency that emits from your Galra tech,” Pidge said, tapping Lance’s foot with hers. Lance looked down at his foot and cursed.

“Shit! I completely forgot!” he slapped his forehead.

“Will you keep it down?!” Keith hissed. “We’re supposed to be on surveillance, which usually means being quiet!” Lance stuck out his tongue at the fire bender and turned back to Pidge.

“You think you can find a way to change it?” he asked.

“Maybe,” she stroked her chin. “Or maybe I can build a new model based off of this one.”

“You can’t,” Lance shook his head. “The Galra use a strange energy called Quintessence that’s only found on their planet. My prosthetic and Shiro’s both use Quintessence to power them.”

“Well fuck!” Pidge pouted.

“Guys, shut. The. Fuck. UP.” Keith exclaimed.

Suddenly, the ground started shaking beneath them.

“That’s not me!” Pidge exclaimed.

“No, it’s them,” Lance pointed. The airships had arrived, shooting the city with a strange purple energy beam. “Looks like they finally got those Ion Cannons working.”

“ION CANNONS?!” Pidge yelled. “What the actual fuck is an Ion Cannon?”

“They found a way to weaponize the Quintessence,” Lance exclaimed over the loud noise of destruction. “I tried to sabotage it multiple times, but my guess is they discovered a sure fire way.”

“Damn,” Keith cursed. “We need to regroup and re-plan.”

“Guys!” Shiro and Hunk ran up to the three and knelt down next to them. “We need to get those people out of the city!”

“Or we could redirect them away,” Pidge said.

“With what?” Hunk asked. “The only thing we could remotely use is- OH, no!” Hunk glared at Pidge. “It’s not even close to being ready!”

“What is it?” Lance asked.

“Rover,” Pidge smirked.

\--

“Why does Keith get to drive?” Lance complained. “I happen to be a great driver!”

“You don’t get to drive because the only driving you do is drive me up a wall,” Keith deadpanned. Shiro chuckled while Pidge snickered, still tinkering with the control panel of Rover IV.

“Haha, good one Keith!” Hunk slapped Keith on the shoulder. Keith winced and rubbed his shoulder.

“Is it ready yet?” Keith asked.

“It’s as good as it’s gonna get,” Pidge sighed, closing the lid to the control panel.

“Let’s do this,” Lance smirked. “Can we do a re-vote? Is it too late to pick the better driver?”

“Lance!” Shiro warned.

“Ugh, fine,” he sighed. “But I call shotgun!” Pidge chuckled as they climbed into the car-like machine.

“He’s gotta sit next to the bae,” she muttered. Hunk chuckled and rolled his eyes.

“What’s a ‘bae’?” Shiro asked.

“It’s a pet word, like babe or honey,” Pidge explained.

“Bae?” Lance asked, letting the word roll of his tongue. “Hmm, sounds easy to say.” He nodded, letting Pidge’s meaning completely blow right past him. Keith took a deep breath and started Rover.

“Let’s just hope this thing works,” he muttered. The machine roared to life.

“So, question,” Lance held a hand up, “what does this thing actually do?”

“And you wanted to drive it?” Keith asked. Lance stuck his tongue out at Keith.

“Guess we’ll find out soon,” Shiro said.

Rover IV was built a bit bigger than usual cars or other automobiles. The tires were big and sturdy, and the engine was comprised of three different engines wired together. The control panel behind the wheel was big and extreme, with many different colored buttons and signs.

Keith kicked Rover into first gear and it sped out of the garage.

“Whoa!” Hunk exclaimed, half holding onto Shiro and half holding onto the side of the door.

“Guess we should invest in some seat belts next,” Pidge remarked, holding onto Shiro’s arm.

“That might be a good idea!” Lance exclaimed, arms bracing himself between Keith’s shoulder and the door.

Rover trekked out over the snow, away from the city and towards the airships. People were still running to get away from the blasts of the ion cannons. Lance could barely see Allura and her soldiers help get them to safety.

“Do we have anything to get their attention?” Keith asked, eyes running over the dash.

“Yeah,” Lance smirked. “Keep her steady.”

“Did you just assume Rover’s gender?” Pidge asked, semi-offended. Lance ignored her and stood up in his seat. He spread his arms and slowly began to move them up. 

“Shiro, a little help?” he glanced at his brother. The older water bender stood up and spread his arms, helping Lance bend up the huge wall of snow. Then it went up and out, shooting straight at the airships, knocking a few of them into each other.

“Looks like that worked,” Hunk said. The Ion cannons stopped shooting at the city. Suddenly, soldiers were being dropped from the airships and landing in the snow.

“Drones,” Lance said, sitting back down. “They’re all made of metal.” Shiro sat down as well, almost losing his balance.

Pidge smirked and cracked her knuckles.

“No problem, guys, I got this.”

Keith stopped Rover and the five of them got out, ready to fight.

“Wait-guys,” Hunk said, eyes going wide. “I can’t bend here, there’s no earth-it’s all glacier!”

“Fuck,” Keith cursed.

“Well,” Lance smirked. “It’s a good thing you got us!” He pointed to himself with his thumb. “Hey Keith, I bet I can take down more drones than you.” The fire bender raised a brow.

“They’re getting closer!” Hunk exclaimed. “God, I hate feeling vulnerable like this!”

The drones continued falling out of the airships. The ones that had already touched ground were now running straight for the five benders. They pulled out their guns and began firing.

“They have guns!” Hunk crouched down. “Pidge! Hurry!”

“I’m waiting for them to get closer!” She said, quickly stepping in front of the group.

“How much closer do you need?” Lance asked, crouching into a fighting position.

“Just a little bit,” Pidge narrowed in on the drones. Then she smiled.

The first row of about twenty drones stopped and were unable to move. Pidge twisted her hands and they went flying back, smashing into the drones behind them and crumpling like a piece of paper.

“Yeah! Go Pidge!” Lance exclaimed.

“What’s that?!” Hunk shrieked, pointing to a giant metal ball falling out of the sky. It landed and unfurled into a giant robotic monster, glowing with the purple quintessence.

“Holy Fuck,” Keith breathed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //casually ends in cliffhanger cuz i didnt know wat to do next  
> //this is fine  
> talk to me peeps, i love hearing your voices (not really) but i love reading your messages!  
> lets do a poll, how many of you want to see my designs for their outfits?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so a few of u wanted to see their outfits....yeah im procrastinating on that...ill get them done soon i promise
> 
> so enjoy...?

“It’s too bad she was born a girl,” a voice whispered. “She’ll never be able to carry on the Holt family name.”

“Yeah,” the other agreed. “If only she was a boy. Her parents would have had her in the best bending schools by now.”

Katie sobbed, letting tears fall down her face. She leaned her head back against the wall that lead into the room where the two people were currently gossiping about her. There was nothing wrong with being a girl!

“There’s nothing wrong with being a girl,” she whispered to herself. Katie clenched her fists. “There’s nothing wrong with being a girl!”

“Katie? Are you okay?” It was Matt. Her brother. Her not-really-there brother.

“I’m fine, go away,” she covered her ears.

“My little pidge-podge,” his voice teased, blowing away with the wisp of her imagination.

_Pidge, huh?_

\--

“This is a little over the top, don’t you think?” Pidge asked. The giant robot took a step closer.

“What’s it supposed to be? A monkey-bear?” Lance exclaimed, flailing his arms. The giant Monkey-bear robot raised its arms and proceeded to shoot a stead ion beam from its palms.

“Run!” Shiro yelled, bending up a thick wall of ice. The benders quickly stumbled into Rover as the beam sliced through the ice. Keith started it up and drove out back towards the land.

“How in the world are we going to defeat that thing?” Keith asked.

“If we go inland, I can bend,” Hunk said.

“But the city,” Pidge said. “We don’t know if Allura has everyone safe yet.”

An energy beam narrowly missed Rover as Keith dodged, turning the car to go right.

“It might be a risk we have to take,” Shiro said.

“We might be able to take it out from the inside,” Lance said.

“What?” Pidge asked.

“If I found a way inside the robot, I’m pretty sure I can find a way to shut it down,” the water bender explained. “You can come with me if you want, but I’ve fought millions of robots and I know my Galra tech.”

“Why did you fight robots?” Keith asked.

“I wasn’t allowed to fight organic Galra, the fight was too easy,” Lance shrugged. Shiro placed a reassuring hand on Lance’s shoulder.

“He’s a blood bender,” Shiro explained. Hunk shuddered.

“And I’m assuming the fight was too easy because-”

“Yes,” Shiro nodded, cutting Pidge’s inquiry off with a nod of his head.

“I only blood bend Galra,” Lance said, crossing his arms. “I’d never do that to a human.”

“You sure you can take it down if you can get close enough?” Keith asked. Lance nodded.

“Pidge, if you could bend a hole in the armor, I could get inside,” the water bender explained.

“Okay, but I say we wait on the edge of land so I can at least have some ammo,” Hunk said.

“That’s fine,” Shiro said, “we can draw up a wall and battle the drones until the robot get close enough for Lance and Pidge to do their thing.”

“Sounds good to me,” Keith nodded.

“Here’s good,” Hunk said, jumping out of the car when Keith slowed to a stop. The rest followed. Hunk bent a large wall out of earth, protecting the city for a few miles each direction.

“Here they come,” Pidge said.

“Get ready,” Keith replied, lowering into fighting stance.

\--

“Is that everyone?” Allura asked.

“I believe so,” Coran replied.

“Good, now we need to go help Keith and the others,” the Princess said. Her advisor nodded and the two began running towards the edge of the city.

“Just out of curiosity, Princess,” Coran asked. “How do you propose we go about helping Keith and the others? Neither of us are benders.”

“I hadn’t thought of that, but I’m sure things will play out when we get there!” Allura smiled. Coran facepalmed.

“Oh boy,” he groaned.

“Is that an earth wall?” Allura asked. They were arriving to the tall wall of earth Hunk had made moments earlier.

“That’s what it appears to be,” Coran said.

“Then we’ll have to go around.”

“After you, Princess.”

\--

Lance felt it. He felt the smooth warm liquid coursing through the robot. It wasn’t a robot. It was a creature. A living creature.

He laughed. Now it was exciting.

“What’s so funny?” Keith asked, kicking another drone to the side. He looked back to Lance, freezing up when he saw the water bender’s face. Adrenaline rushed into Keith’s body, making his heart pump faster in fear. For the first time since he was ten, Keith felt fear, dread, horror.

“Fools,” Lance grinned. “All Galra are fools.” Shiro’s eyes widened and he pulled Pidge a few steps away from his brother.

“Lance!” Shiro called.

“He sent a living creature to battle me?” Lance asked, slipping into fighting mode. “He should have known better.”

Lance extended his arms, bracing his feet firmly on the ground. The monster kept making its way towards the benders. It moved faster, faster, and faster. Until it stopped, unable to move.

The blood bender lifted it into the air.

Keith’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped as Lance easily held an extremely large monster in the air. It must’ve weighed a ton.

“Lance?” Keith muttered. And that’s when Lance jerked his hands apart.

Keith missed it. But he felt it. Blood was everywhere as the two torn pieces of the monster fell to the ground.

“What in the world?” the Princess’s voice brought Keith back to reality.

“You’re a blood bender?” Coran asked.

Lance drew in a shaky breath before falling unconscious. Shiro caught him and drew him to his chest. 

“That….was….AMAZING!” Pidge exclaimed, jumping into the air.

“Oh my god,” Hunk groaned, covering his mouth with his hand. “That looks so disgusting. I think I’m gonna be sick!”

“Look! It worked! The Galra are retreating!” Allura exclaimed.

“For now at least,” Shiro said. He lifted his brother and gently laid him in the back seat of Rover.

“The city should be completely empty by now,” Coran said. “We should get indoors and stay hidden to make it seem so to the Galra, should they come back.”

Keith climbed into the driver’s seat and glanced back at Lance. He was a very difficult guy to understand. Something gripped his heart when he noticed Shiro climb in next to Lance and gently hold his brother’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CRIES  
> wheezes  
> por Lance my baby  
> next update might be a while btw
> 
> PS. what do u guys think of a TRON au...u kno, for the volTRON??? eh? eh? maybe not?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heellloooooo everybodyyy  
> welcom back

It had been one year since Lance and Shiro had been captured. Lance hated it. He hated being forced to watch his brother fight, being forced to fight as his brother watched. He hated it.

“Get on with it, boy,” the soldier pushed Lance towards the ring.

Ten year old Lance glared at the soldier and strided into the ring confidently. He was going to win. He was going to live, to survive.

His challenger stood in the center, hands on his hips and smirk on his face.

“I’m fighting a small weakling?” He laughed.

Lance let out a scream before his opponent’s remains were splattered on the walls.

“I’ve never been weak,” Lance commented, eyes misting over. He walked back over to Shiro, whose face never strayed from gentle, caring, and understanding. He knew that here it was kill or be killed.

And that’s why Lance hated it.

\--

Lance woke with a start, hastily sitting up from the cot. His eyes darted around, finding the fire bender but no Shiro.

“Where’s Shiro?” Lance asked.

“He’s in the living room with the others,” Keith replied. Lance sighed and looked down at his lap. The silence between them was confusing. Lance didn’t understand why it was confusing, but it was.

“Sorry about earlier,” the water bender found himself saying.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“For going all psycho killer on you guys,” Lance fiddled with the edge of his soft blue shirt. “I hadn’t blood bended in seven years. Part of me was excited to kill him.” He swung his legs over the side of the cot and buried his face in his hands.

Lance expected Keith to do anything except for what actually happened.

He laughed. Lance jerked up, gawking at the fire bender. He looked so...happy? No, content was more like it.

“I may be young, but I’ve killed my share of people,” Keith said, drawing in wheezing gasps. “Same with Pidge and Hunk, sad to say.”

“What?” Lance blinked.

“It’s because we were forced into those situations that Allura helped us,” he explained. “I was seven when I was first forced to fight never ending agni-kais. Hunk was eight and Pidge was eleven when they were thrown in the ring.”

Lance raised a brow, “So what are you, ‘Rescued Unfortunate Teens’?” Keith chuckled.

“I guess,” he smiled. Lance preferred smiling and laughing Keith than the stoic and commanding Keith. Lance smiled in response.

“Thanks, Keith,” the water bender stood. Keith tensed, not used to hearing those two words put in the same sentence from anyone other than Allura.

“I, uh…” Keith stuttered. “Maybe we should go see what the others are up to?” Lance smiled, patting the younger bender on the shoulder.

“Good idea, Mulletboy,” he said. Keith’s smile turned into a pout that made the water bender burst into laughter.

“There’s nothing wrong with my hair!” Lance stumbled to the door, laughing, and swung it open, only to be caught up in his brother’s strong arms.

“Wah! Shiro!” Lance protested.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Shiro set him down and placed his right hand against Lance’s chest, where his heart was. Lance smiled gently and repeated the action, a habit they had developed in Zarkon’s prisons, when they were shoved in their cell for the night after a long day of forced fighting.

Keith watched the interaction between the two siblings and couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. He’d had no siblings, no friends that close enough to do something as simple as that. If he even dared to try that with Hunk or Pidge, he’d end up deep in the cold earth somewhere for sure.

Suddenly, Shiro’s eyes were on him. Keith instantly brought his attention back to the present.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on him,” he winked. Lance pouted.

“We were actually in the middle of a lovely conversation about his outdated hairstyle-”

“THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY HAIR!”

\--

Keith couldn’t help but notice their brotherly touches after that. The way they bumped fists after Lance had said a “sweet” line. The way they playfully wrestled when their teasing went too far. The way Shiro caught Lance in the crook of his elbow and messed up his shaggy brown hair.

He was jealous. Not of Lance or Shiro personally, but rather, they way they flaunted their brotherly status with casual touches. It was the touches that Keith was jealous of.

While Allura and Coran talked battle strategies with Shiro, Lance would always stand close by, fingering the edge of Shiro’s shirt, gently tugging when he wanted to say something.

“But wouldn’t that leave our left side completely open?” Lance tugged on Shiro’s shirt.

“Yes, but the Galra wouldn’t even be there, since our right flank would be drawing all the fire,” Coran explained. “That’s when we use the left flank to attack from behind.”

Another tug. “Ah, so kinda like surrounding them but they don’t know we’re even there.”

“Yes, Lance,” Shiro sighed. He’d said that exact same thing at the beginning, but Lance wasn’t paying attention. “You know, why don’t you go play a game with Keith or Pidge. Show them how to play a few bending games.”

He tugged hardcore on Shiro’s shirt, pulling half of it open.

“Fine,” Lance said. “I can see when I’m not wanted.” Then Lance left, but not before noticing the way Allura’s eyes had dipped down to wander over his brother’s chest, then darted back to the maps tacked to the wall. “Come on, Keith. Let’s leave the _adults_ to do their thing.”

Lance smirked, knowing that Shiro would have to untie his shirt to tuck it back to the way it was. Keith followed Lance, and after much convincing, Pidge and Hunk came too.

“So now what?” Pidge asked. “You got us outside, what’s your big plan?”

“Let’s play bending tag!” Lance exclaimed.

“Bending tag?” Keith raised a brow.

“Ooh, this sounds really fun!” Hunk grew excited. “But, uh, how do you play?”

“The rules are simple,” Lance explained, “only basic bending or fighting moves, and two taps on the shoulder means you’re ‘it’.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Pidge shrugged. “Let’s play!”

“Not it!” Lance called, soon followed by Pidge and Hunk’s proclamations of ‘not it’.”

Keith stood, frozen and confused.

“Wait-” Keith started, looking around.

“You’re it!” the water bender smiled before running towards the empty town with Pidge and Hunk. “Come and tag us, Mulletboy!” Keith watched Pidge, Hunk, and Lance’s retreating backs before smirking.

“You asked for it!” Keith ran after the other benders, hearing a squeal from Lance and a few shouts from Hunk, laughing all the while.

Shiro, Allura, and Coran watched from the doorway.

“In terms of team bonding, Lance is a definite benefit,” Shiro crossed his arms.

“How so?” Allura asked.

“Lance is a touchy-feely guy,” Shiro explained. “He’ll bring your team closer together just by simply hanging out with them. It’s how he works, how he’s always dealt with any situation.”

“I’m guessing he’s made a lot of friends among the prisoners?” Coran asked. Shiro sighed.

“Too many.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lance just wants to have fun ok  
> also, btw, the avatar wont be revealed until a few more chapters  
> and im still working on those outfits!!! ive got lance, keith, and pidge done, but not posted yet! I'll do that soon, ill keep u posted about that


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hEY EVERYBODY  
> im back with another chapter  
> sorry it took forever there r some things in my life that were draggin me down  
> hopefully i can get another chapter updated within the next week for u!

“So what’s your favorite bending move?” Lance leaned in close to Pidge, smile wide on his face. Pidge looked away from her screen and gave Lance an annoyed, yet amused look.

“Mmm, it’s a little difficult to explain,” she said after a moment’s thought. “It might be easier to demonstrate it to you.”

“Really?” the water bender asked. Pidge nodded, standing up.

“Yeah, come on!” she smiled, beckoning Lance to follow her outside.

Once outside, Pidge clicked the metal gears at her waist so she could bend the metal cords coiled on her belt.

“Alright,” the metal bender said, “attack me.”

Lance drew water from the snow nearby and performed a simple attack. Metal cords sliced through the water and grabbed his ankles, forcing them to go opposite directions.

“I call this the splits!” Pidge said, forcing Lance down into a split.

“You know, it’s a good thing I’m flexible!” Lance placed his palms down on the ground and lifted his body so it was off the ground, executing a perfectly balanced handstand. Then he swept his legs down, bending water with it to take Pidge off guard to release the metal cords at his ankles.

Once Lance was on his feet again, he instantly ran over to check to see if Pidge was okay. He helped her stand.

“You’re good,” Pidge said. “I tried that move on Coran once….it didn’t go over that well.” Lance burst into laughter. “Keith would kill me if I tried it on him.”

“He probably would,” Lance agreed.

\--

Allura sighed. She was happy that her ‘team’ was getting along better since Lance and Shiro had arrived. But she was still worried. Lance and Shiro had been held captive for a decade. Surely there was more depth to them than they let show.

She smiled as she watched Lance playfully spar with Pidge outside. Keith and Hunk had gone to join them moments ago, reveling in Lance’s flexibility and putting it to the test. Lance was a good fighter, hell, he was the best bender Allura had ever seen. Not to mention she hadn’t even seen the older brother bend yet. She wondered what he was like...bending. She instantly had to clarify which type of bending she wanted him to do.

Blushing she hid her face in her hands. That was not what she meant.

“What are you thinking about?” Suddenly, Pidge was at her side, giving her a smirk as if she had read Allura’s thoughts.

“Pidge!” the princess shrieked. “How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?!”

“A million,” Pidge rolled her eyes, looking out the window. “I bet you were thinking of the hot one. Shiro.”

“What??” Allura feigned disinterest. “Psh, I was just thinking about water...bending.”

“And how good he’d look doing it?” the earth bender leaned closer to Allura. “Well he’s outside now, so go ahead and stare.”

Allura’s eyes darted out the window to where Shiro stood next to Hunk, with his hands on his hips, while Lance was being chased by an angry Keith. The two younger benders began dueling it out while Hunk and Shiro exchanged glances and began to separate them. Shiro wrapped an arm around Lance’s waist and hoisted him over his shoulder while Hunk just pressed a hand against Keith’s chest.

“Holy fuck,” Pidge exclaimed. Allura was frozen. While Shiro hadn’t used his bending, he was strong.

“I think you may be right, Pidge,” the princess nodded and forced herself away from the window.

“I’m always right,” the smaller woman smirked. 

\--

“He started it!” Lance exclaimed from his position draped across Shiro’s shoulder.

“I did not!” Keith protested.

Shiro tossed Lance into a pile of snow, and turned back to Keith. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a snowball hitting the side of his face.

Lance was smirking, bending a few more snowballs and hit Hunk and Keith square in the face. They started making their own snowballs.

“That’s it!” Shiro exclaimed, bending a huge snowball. He sent it flying at Lance, who crumpled to the ground in a fit of giggles. Shiro smiled, eyes lighting up. He sent another snowball at Lance, making him stop laughing.

Shiro smirked and bent more snowballs.

“Snowball fight!” Lance playfully shouted. Keith hit him square in the jaw. “You are so gonna get it, Mulletboy!”

“Can we have teams? Can Shiro be on my team?” Hunk asked.

“Wait-” Keith said, he looked over at Lance. “No, no no nononono, I am not going to be on the same team as the guy who’s favorite past time is to insult my hairstyle.”

“Maybe I’d find something compliment worthy if you got a haircut,” Lance peered into Keith’s indigo eyes. “Although, now that I’m this close, you’ve got purple eyes.”

“He what?” Shiro asked, shoving Lance out of the way. “That’s ridiculous, only-...he does, you’re right.”

“Only what?” Keith took a step back, suddenly feeling self conscious and a little nervous at the direction this game had turned.

“Only Galra have purple eyes,” Shiro said. Keith sucked in a shaky breath and exchanged looks with Lance, who looked more concerned than scared.

“What?” the fire bender asked. “How is that even possible, the Galra didn’t come to Earth until I was seven, how could I-...?”

“There’s only one way to find out for sure,” Hunk spoke up, placing a comforting hand on Keith’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGERRRR DUN DUN DUNNNN  
> ye sorry not sorry
> 
> ps. Ive got 3/7 outfits drawn but not colored and im kinda giving up. so if anyone wants to take over for me that would be great ill send u the designs and ideas i was thinkin THANK message me on my tumblr if ur interested!!! swimmingflamingo


	7. Chapter 7

Pidge blinked at the screen, none of this was making any sense.

“Well?” Keith asked impatiently.

“The data is inconclusive,” she said, running her hands over her face. “I won’t be able to identify Galran genes in your code unless I have a sample of pure Galran DNA to compare it too.”

“So, we go and find some!” the fire bender exclaimed. “What are we waiting for?”

“While this new development is certainly very interesting,” Coran appeared at Keith’s elbow, making the raven jump, “we need to continue onto more pressing matters. Such as a search for Avatar!”

“The Avatar?”

Everyone’s attention swiveled over to Lance and Shiro, who stood looking extremely confused.

“Do you know what the Avatar is?” Keith asked.

The two water benders shook their heads.

“Oh my god, how could you NOT know?” Pidge exclaimed.

“Well excuse us for being captured by Zarkon at a young age, okay?” Lance crossed his arms.

“Anyway,” Allura rolled her eyes, “the Avatar is a chosen person that can control all four elements to bring peace to the world. We’ll need to find the Avatar in order to defeat the Galra.”

“Why hadn’t they tried to find them before?” Shiro asked.

“Because the Avatar is supposed to be a water bender,” Coran said. “They usually discover who they are by the time they reach mid teens, however, since the Southern Water Tribe was wiped out, we’ve delayed the search.”

“I see,” Shiro nodded. “And how old is the Avatar now?”

“Early twenties,” Allura said. “No one knows the exact date of the previous Avatar’s death, considering he was an air bender and spent his last days near the Southern Air Temples.”

“It might be easier to find the Avatar if we found that date,” Pidge said. “If we know the exact date, I can cross reference it with all the Water Tribesmen born on that date.”

“Well how can we find that out?” Lance asked.

“We could go to the Southern Air Temples and ask around,” Coran suggested.

“Wait-isn't the Southern Air Temples near the Southern Water Tribe?” Hunk asked. “That’s Galran territory!”

“We’ll have to be as stealthy as possible then,” Allura nodded. “Let’s begin making preparations to leave as soon as possible.”

\--

Luckily, the docks hadn’t been damaged during the Galran attack. Lance, Shiro, and Hunk started loading up their biggest, fastest boat with supplies.

“And thus begins our search for the Avatar!” Coran exclaimed. He was by far the most excited one of the bunch to meet the Avatar.

“Wait-can one of you explain this Avatar stuff to me again?” Lance asked. Groans could be heard around the ship.

“The Avatar is the guy or girl who can control all four elements,” Pidge rolled her eyes. She was busy setting up some of her equipment in one of the control rooms of the ship. Shiro chuckled and patted his brother on the back.

“It’s confusing but we’ll get it soon,” he said. “How long is this trip going to last?”

“It will take about three weeks to get to New Republic City,” Allura explained. “There, we’ll stop for supplies, gather a few reinforcements and continue on our way. It will take a few more weeks after that to get to the Southern Air Temples.”

Shiro nodded and turned to Lance.

“Think you can get along with Keith for a few weeks?” he asked.

“I have no problem with anybody on this ship,” Lance crossed his arms. “The only problem is the one Keith has with me.”

“I have no problem with you other than the fact you insult my hairstyle!”

“Well, it is terrible, no doubt about it,” Lance smirked.

“Lance!” Shiro warned.

“What?” the younger brother defended himself.

“Don’t make me water-smack you.”

“I would never!”

“Sure.”

“He doesn’t believe me!” Lance exclaimed, sinking to his knees dramatically and landing on a heap on the deck. “My own brother!”

“None of us believe you, Lance,” Pidge raised a brow, she pulled out a small device and started tinkering with it.

“Ah! I am hurt, wounded, murdered!” the brunette continued with his act. Shiro chuckled playfully and rolled his eyes.

“Lance, get up off the floor, you don’t know what’s been there,” Hunk said, stepping in to help his friend up. “Also, Coran says he’s about start the engines.”

With a loud roar, the engines sparked to life, filling the ship with a low hum.

“Are we all here?” Allura asked, counting heads. “Perfect, we’ll be on our way.” She waved up to the engine room, where Coran was and gestured for him to start the journey. “You know, this trip is going to take a while, so it’s a perfect opportunity to work on our team building skills!” She clapped her hands happily.

“If we’re a team, I should be the leader!” Lance smirked. Shiro whacked him upside the head.

“If anyone has to be leader, it should be Allura,” Shiro lifted a brow, “seeing as how she’s the Princess and all.”

“Oh…” Lance pouted. “Right.”

“So,” Allura rolled her eyes, “shall we begin?”

“Wait-how long is this gonna take,” Hunk interrupted. “Cuz I’m hungry. Are you hungry? I could seriously go for some fried noodles right now.” Allura glared at the earth bender. “Or maybe not, I can wait, a while, I guess.”

“Anyway,” the princess placed her hands on her hips.

“Oh,” Pidge said, “finally!” She held up a tiny device. “I got it working!”

“What is it?” Keith asked.

“It’s a Galra Finder!” the metal bender smirked, “I could go into detail but I know none of you would really understand, except maybe Hunk. So I’ll be gracious and spare you.”

“Oh, gee, thanks, Pidge,” Lance said, slightly confused. Keith raised a brow.

“How about we focus on team building?” Allura glared at Pidge for interrupting.

“Sure!” Pidge quickly put the small device back in her bag. “Carry on.”

“Anybody else care to interrupt?” Allura asked, shifting to give each bender a threatening gaze.

“Nope!” Shiro held his hands up, “I think we’re all good.”

“Good.”

\--

Lance jolted awake and sat up, gasping to take deep breaths. The dreams were getting too real. He needed some fresh air.

The brunet stood and wrapped his coat around his shoulders, slipping his boot on his human foot. Then he made his way to the deck.

His blue eyes roamed over the calm of the ocean, calming his inner turmoil as well. He smiled. He’d always liked the ocean. Ever since he was little he had dreamt of a life on the sea. But that dream had disappeared the moment Zarkon locked him in a cell.

He took a deep breath.

Bending always helped him to relax. Lance bent a small amount of water from the ocean and twirled it around his hand. He leaned against the railing and sighed. Only when Zarkon was defeated, sent back to wherever the hell he came from, could Lance truly relax.

“Can’t sleep?”

It was Hunk. Lance smiled.

“Nah, you?”

“I-I don’t usually sleep,” the bigger earthbender shrugged.

“Ah,” Lance nodded.

“So, why can’t you sleep?” Hunk asked.

“Nightmares,” the brunet replied, “they’re getting worse.” Hunk placed a comforting hand on the water bender’s shoulder.

“Have you told Shiro?”

“He has his own burdens to deal with,” Lance sighed, “mine feel insignificant in comparison.” He twirled the small drops of water in between his fingers and around his wrist to distract him.

“Well, I’m here if you ever need to talk,” the earth bender smiled. Lance grinned up at his new friend.

“Thanks, man.”

“Yeah.”

After a few moments of silence, Lance flung the water back into the waves and braced his hands on the railing.

“You think this Avatar guy can destroy Zarkon?”

“Well, the Avatar is one of the most powerful benders in the world,” Hunk crossed his arms, “I think he can definitely help us change the tides.” Lance nodded.

“Hopefully we can find him,” he said, “we’ll need all the help we can get.”

He looked back over the ocean, the sky lighting with hints of the coming sunrise.

“Hopefully,” Hunk repeated.

\--

Keith leaned his head back against the crate he was resting on. He’d overheard Lance and Hunk’s conversation and was meaning to slip out quietly but froze when he heard Lance mention his nightmares.

He’d forgotten that Lance and Shiro had been through what seemed like hell for the past ten years. It was easy to forget when they both acted so carefree and strong. And here Lance was, sharing a tiny fraction of his insecurities to a man he’d just met a few weeks ago.

Although, Hunk is a very good secret keeper. He gives off a cuddly, safe aura, so there was no doubt that Lance wouldn’t confide in him.

There were definite times these past weeks where Keith saw a glimpse of the true Lance. And once Keith saw something that even piqued his interest in the slightest, there was no way he’d let it go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyy  
> sorry for taking forever to post! I've been dealing with a lot of shit rn  
> thank u all for ur kind words! I'm not ready to give up on this, even tho my inspiration seems to have left me.  
> im open to all kinds of ideas of what kinds of things they encounter on their trip!! feel free to message me
> 
> ps. i re-edited a few earlier chapters, just minor details, altho i added some more hunk lines, cuz my cuddly cinnamon roll needs more!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND IM BACK!!!
> 
> its a little short today, hopefully i can get back into the groove of things.

The engine sputtered to a stop, spewing smoke and oil onto Coran’s shirt.

“Oh quiznak!” he sputtered. “This was my favorite shirt! My mum spun it, handmade mind you, from the silkworms she grew in her-”

“Coran!” Allura cut off her advisor, facepalming in exasperation. “How long until the engine is fixed?”

“I’m not sure,” the ginger stroked his mustache, “it could take days. I’m not even sure if we have the spare parts to fix it.”

Allura sighed, “Fine, Hunk and Pidge can help you fix it. We’ll stay anchored here for a few days until you can get it up and running.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Coran nodded. He brushed past the Princess to start finding the right parts.

Allura spun on her heel to walk out to the main deck.

“So?” Keith asked.

“The engine is broken,” Allura sighed, “Coran says it might take a few days to fix, so we’ll remain here. Shiro, could you and Hunk lower the anchor?” Shiro nodded and patted Hunk’s shoulder with the back of his hand.

Lance sunk to the floor in boredom.

“I’m so bored!” he whined.

“Wanna duel?” Keith suggested.

“Here? Now?” Lance perked up. Keith nodded. “Alright, Mulletboy, prepare to get your socks blown off.”

“I’m not wearing socks,” the raven furrowed his brows in confusion, looking down at his bare feet.

“It’s an expression,” Allura chuckled. She moved over to the side to watch.

Lance and Keith dropped down into fighting stance.

“You ready?” Keith asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, MB,” the brunet smirked.

Lance let Keith make the first attack, relying solely on his defensive skills. It was a tactic he’d learned from years of fighting. Always go on the defensive until you find holes, flaws, weaknesses, then you attack.

“Oh no, are they fighting again?” Hunk asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He and Shiro had finished lowering the anchor.

“They’re dueling,” Allura said. “I’ll be their referee if needed.”

“Thanks,” Shiro patted her shoulder. The Princess blushed and looked away. They continued watching the duel, although it was more one sided, as Lance hadn’t attacked yet.

Shiro knew his brother’s fighting style, he knew exactly what made him tick. He knew what Lance was waiting for.

Keith was a strong opponent. He’d fought agni kai after agni kai for years since he was seven. He was skilled and swift. But Lance had ten years of survival instincts that overpowered those skills.

Suddenly, a loud crack split through the air and a large piece of pipe went flying directly for Keith’s head. Lance acted on instinct and bent water around the pipe, freezing it, stopping it in its tracks, and letting it drop to the ground.

The fire bender stood frozen to the spot. Shocked by the speed on which Lance had acted, protecting _him_ of all people.

Coran came rushing out of the control room and looked down at the main deck.

“Is anyone hurt?” he asked.

“I think you dropped something,” Lance exclaimed, bending the pipe back up to Coran and melting the ice. The metal dropped smoothly in Coran’s hand.

“Jumping juniberries!” Coran exclaimed. “Did you catch this?”

“Right before it almost hit Keith’s head,” Allura smiled. “Good catch, Lance!”

“Thanks,” Keith mumbled.

“No problemo,” the brunet waved a hand, “now, let’s get back to our duel!”

Shiro chuckled and rolled his eyes. His little brother never ceased to amaze him. He was proud of him.

The rest of the duel lasted about two minutes, giving Lance enough time to strike Keith in his weak spot and pin him to the floor, straddling the raven’s hips.

Keith blinked up at the water bender and softly cursed.

“Fuck,” he breathed. Lance smirked and let go of Keith, helping the raven stand.

“Whoa,” Hunk exclaimed.

“Better luck next time, Mulletboy,” he said.

“Good fighting, boys,” Allura smiled. “Now I believe we need to get back to work.”

\--

Hunk and Coran slaved over the engine, piecing it together, then taking it apart only to put it all back together again.

“If all else fails, Shiro and I can just water bend the boat to New Republic City,” Lance said, gesturing with a wave of his hand as he leisurely reclined on the deck of the ship.

Shiro was lounging with his head against Lance’s stomach, fiddling with an old engine part, trying to clean it.

“I think we’re ready to give it a go!” Coran exclaimed, running out to the railing to peer over the edge looking over the deck.

“Wait, don’t you need this?” Shiro asked, holding up the engine part he’d been playing with. Coran blinked at the piece.

“Perhaps,” he said. “But we’re ready to give it a go!” Then the ginger disappeared back in the engine room.

“I feel safe,” Lance said sarcastically. Shiro pinched Lance’s arm. “Oww!”

The engine let out a low rumble, then sputtered and stopped. Coran ran back out and grabbed the piece from Shiro.

“I suppose we needed this piece after all!”

Then the older man disappeared back into the engine room. Lance chuckled.

“Oh my god!” Pidge let out a groan. “We’re never going to get to New Republic city.”

“Have a little faith in Coran and Hunk, Pidge,” Allura sighed, running her hands through her hair. She’d been nervously playing with it all morning.

“I have faith in Hunk.”

“What about Coran?” Allura asked.

“He literally tried styling his mustache with mustard last week, Princess,” Pidge gave Allura an unimpressed glance, “my faith in him equals the amount of miles we have traveled in the last two weeks. Zero.”

Lance snickered at Pidge’s snarky comment.

“I didn’t even know we had mustard aboard this ship,” Shiro piped up.

“That would be Hunk’s doing, I’m sure,” the Princess chuckled.

“What a waste of mustard,” the older brother clicked his tongue and shook his head.

\--

The sound of metal scraping on metal pierced through the night, making Keith jolt from his bed. He looked over at Hunk, who was looking at him with wide eyes.

The sound happened again, making Keith wince and cover his ears.

“What’s going on?” he demanded.

“I wish I knew!” Hunk yelled back.

And as suddenly as it started, the sound stopped.

“Come on,” Keith jumped out of bed and grabbed his shirt. He slipped on his shoes and hurried up to the deck, Hunk on his tail.

The deck wasn’t empty.

Lance, Shiro, and Pidge stood around Allura, shielding her from the filthy, ragged, pirates that stood leering at them.

“What’s going on?” Keith demanded yet a second time.

“Keith!” Lance exclaimed.

“Oh looky who decided to join the party!” the tallest pirate sneered, taking a step towards Keith and Hunk.

Keith instantly recoiled, arm darting out to grab onto Hunk’s sleeve for that sense of familiar comfort. Pirates. Why’d it have to be pirates?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this was a crazy ride  
> wat a cliff-hangar WHOO

**Author's Note:**

> So....??? whaddya think? Should I continue this?
> 
> Feel free to ask me questions, I'm working on drawing their outfits btw. Shoot me a comment here or a message on my tumblr here http://swimmingflamingo.tumblr.com/


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